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Environment:

The world’s biggest shipping company is testing greener fuels

Shipping accounts for 90 percent of the transported goods around the world and 3 percent of total global CO2 emissions. That number is set to rise to 15 percent by 2050 if left unchecked. The good news is that number is not being left unchecked by the world’s largest shipping company: Maersk. The shipping giant, which was the first to commit to decarbonize in line with the UN’s carbon reduction goals, is inching closer to meeting its goal of going carbon neutral by 2050 with a pilot of a biofuels-powered vessel. Teaming up with Shell and other members of the…

Source: GreenBiz
Category: Environment - Date:04/23/2019

How a drone rediscovered a rare Hawaiian flower thought to be extinct

There are many benefits to living on a sheer cliff face, if you’re a very rare Hawaiian plant. Hungry goats can’t get to you. Neither can oblivious people, who are known to crush priceless plants underfoot. Nor can botanists, even though they just want to save the plants. That’s how Hibiscadelphus woodii, a relative of the hibiscus flower, wound up on the extinct species list in just shy of two decades after it was first discovered by botanist Ken Wood in 1991, in the Kalalau Valley on the Hawaiian island of Kauai. The last known sighting of H. woodii was in 2009. Efforts to grow…

Source: Quartz
Category: Environment - Date:04/23/2019

Before electric planes become the norm, we need airlines to make use of biofuels

Electric planes are expected to play a massive role in reducing the carbon footprint of the aviation industry in the future, but unfortunately, there’s still a long road ahead before commercial electric planes become the industry standard. In the meantime, we need to look at other ways of cleaning up the aviation industry. Boeing has one solution in the form of biofuel, which can cut the carbon emissions of a flight by up to 80 percent. Biofuels are thought to be carbon-neutral because the carbon dioxide absorbed by the plants used to make the fuel should be equal to the…

Source: The Points Guy
Category: Environment - Date:04/23/2019

Finally, a supermarket chain is letting people use their own reusable containers

Consumers can absolutely be a part of the solution when it comes to reducing waste. Canadian supermarket chain Metro realizes that, which is why they’re allowing customers to bring reusable containers from home to fill with meat, seafood, deli products, and prepared foods. Although it seems ridiculous that you couldn’t use your own containers in the first place, Metro is one of the first major supermarkets to allow this. A few rules apply. Containers must be clean and staff can refuse to fill if they’re not clean enough. Plastic containers and ziplock bags are allowed, as long as they do…

Source: Daily Hive
Category: Environment - Date:04/22/2019

You can help NASA by snapping photos of trees

NASA would like you to take a picture of a tree, please. The space agency’s ICESat-2 satellite estimates the height of trees from space, and NASA has created a new tool for citizen scientists that can help check those measurements from the ground. All it takes is a smartphone, the app, an optional tape measure, and a tree. Launched in September 2018, the ICESat-2 satellite carries an instrument called ATLAS that shoots 60,000 pulses of light at the Earth’s surface every second it orbits the planet. By measuring the satellite’s position, the angle, and how long it takes for those laser beams to bounce back from the…

Source: The Verge
Category: Environment - Date:04/22/2019

To save the Earth, science says we must keep half of all land in a natural state

To stabilize the climate and spare the planet from the consequences of runaway climate change, we must let nature play a bigger role in our conservation plans. According to a comprehensive new study, countries should double their protected zone to 30 percent of Earth’s land area, and add 20 percent more as climate stabilization areas, for a total of 50 percent of all land kept in a natural state. All of this needs to be done by 2030 to have a real hope of keeping climate change under the “danger zone” target of 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) and to prevent…

Source: National Geographic
Category: Environment - Date:04/22/2019

Nepalese army collects two tons of trash from Mt Everest in less than a week

Decades of commercial mountaineering have turned Mount Everest into the world's highest rubbish dump as an increasing number of big-spending climbers have paid little attention to the ugly footprint they leave behind. Fortunately, collective action once again proved its value. In a coordinated effort with local authorities and NGOs, the Nepalese army has managed to clean nearly two tons of non-biodegradable waste in less than a week. After the on-site cleanup campaign was finished, the collected trash, which includes discarded tents and a variety of mountaineering equipment, was sent to waste management facilities in the area where it is expected…

Source: My Republica
Category: Environment - Date:04/22/2019

Here’s why giant trash monsters are popping up in front of Nestle’s headquarters

There are lots of ways you can voice your disapproval of a company’s wasteful ways. You can write the company letters, lament them on social media, boycott their products—or you can put a 15-foot-tall monster made out of garbage in front of their headquarters. That’s exactly what Greenpeace activists did on Tuesday in front of the Nestlé US headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Earlier in the day, an even bigger artfully crafted trash monster was delivered to the company’s global headquarters in Switzerland, while similar leviathans cropped up in Italy, Kenya, and the Philippines. It was all part of a global…

Source: Earther
Category: Environment - Date:04/19/2019

This nonprofit wants to save the oceans with “blue bonds” for coastal nations

Not all coastal nations feel inclined to spend money and time protecting the bodies of water that sit beside them, especially when there are other big issues to address such as improving infrastructure. That’s why global non-profit The Nature Conservancy (TNC) has announced a $1.6 billion plan to help save and restore the world’s oceans by selling “blue bonds” to coastal and island countries. The Blue Bonds for Conservation initiative will refinance and restructure debt for coastal and island countries, so long as those nations commit to protecting at least 30 percent of their near-shore ocean areas, including coral reefs,…

Source: GreenBiz
Category: Environment - Date:04/19/2019

The critically endangered kākāpō is making an incredible comeback

Meet the kākāpō, the nocturnal, flightless parrot known for its charismatic nature and owl-like face. It’s also known for being the world’s fattest parrot. A few hundred years ago the chubby parrot was one of New Zealand’s most common birds, but now there are only 147 adult kākāpō left due to heavy hunting and loss of habitat. Because the population is so small every kākāpō has a name – including Ruth, Hoki, Suzanne, and Zephyr – and is subject to one of the most intensive management programs of any species in the world. Infertility and inbreeding have been long-term issues for…

Source: The Guardian
Category: Environment - Date:04/18/2019

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